88 people killed in accidents on Samruddhi Expressway where bus crashed since December 2022: Maharashtra official

As many as 88 people have lost their lives in road accidents in the last six months on Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra, including 25 on Saturday as a private bus caught fire after hitting a divider, an official said. Road hypnosis is cited as one of the causes of the accidents on the six-lane wide access-controlled expressway, the state highway police official said.

Highway hypnosis or driving hypnosis is a condition when a driver zones out while driving a vehicle without remembering what occurred in that specific period. A total of 39 fatal accidents have taken place on the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway since December last year when it was partially thrown open, the official said citing data.

Read | Spotlight on Samruddhi Expressway after Buldhana crash

Besides, 616 minor and major accidents have occurred on this expressway in which 656 people suffered from serious and minor injuries, he said. Most of the accidents were caused due to reasons like over-speeding, drivers dozing off at the wheel, and tyre bursts.

The official said the highway police have been trying to tackle the issue of road hypnosis.

Across Maharashtra, 15,224 people were killed in road crashes in 2022, he added.

In the early hours of Saturday, 25 passengers were charred to death as the private bus they were travelling in caught fire after hitting a divider on the expressway in Buldhana district, police said. The 701-kilometre Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg is now operational on a 601-km stretch from Vidarbha's largest city to Bharvir in Nashik.